Text prepared, introduced and annotated by Stéphane Schmitt with the collaboration of Cédric Crémière
The complete works of Buffon are practically confused with his monumental undertaking, the Natural History, of which the thirty-six volumes appeared from 1749 to 1789. This work, often reprinted to the end, of the nineteenth century, Has been since then. We therefore propose for the first time the entirety of this text in a form that corresponds to the current criteria of scientific publishing.
After studying the theory of the earth and the question of generation, and after having begun the "Natural History of Man," Buffon completes this study in this third volume by addressing the problem of the senses and their importance In acquiring knowledge, and by offering a vast panorama of the variety of men, which gives him the opportunity to demonstrate the uniqueness of the human species. This volume also includes the presentation by Daubenton of the objects of human anatomy preserved in the Cabinet du Roi, an invaluable document for the history of naturalist collections and museological theory.
After studying the theory of the earth and the question of generation, and after having begun the "Natural History of Man," Buffon completes this study in this third volume by addressing the problem of the senses and their importance In acquiring knowledge, and by offering a vast panorama of the variety of men, which gives him the opportunity to demonstrate the uniqueness of the human species. This volume also includes the presentation by Daubenton of the objects of human anatomy preserved in the Cabinet du Roi, an invaluable document for the history of naturalist collections and museological theory.
Stéphane Schmitt is director of research at CNRS (SPHERE, UMR 7219, Paris). His research focuses on the history of the life sciences of the eighteenth to the twentieth century, particularly on the development of anatomy and embryology in connection with the development of theories of evolution.
Cédric Crémière, heritage curator and director of the Museum of Natural History of Le Havre, is particularly interested in the history of anatomy and collections.
: : Champion
: : Collection "Age des Lumières", n°0046
: : 768 pages
: : Janvier 2009
: : ISBN 9782745317308
